Copyholder



Feb. 17, 1942. c. w. STEVENS GOPYHOLDER Filed July 16, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet l dharle/a Kite/vans ATTORNEYS Feb. 17, 1942.

c. w. STEVENS COPYHOLDER Filed July 16, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYSPatented Feb. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to copyholders, and its general object is toprovide a copyholding device that is primarily designed for use with a"Linotype machine or the like, to enable the operator to read the copywith minimum eyestrain and fatigue, in that my device exposes to viewonly one or several lines at a time, it

depending upon the space between the lines on the copy, and the lattercan be easily and expeditiously fed through the holder as it is beingread, thus it will be seen that my holder brings about a materialincrease in speed in the setting of the type, as well as reduces theliability of errors.

A further object is to provide a copyholder that includes a pair ofcompanion rollers, one acting to feed the copy through the holder andthe other not only holds the copy on the feed roller, against anypossibility of displacement, but acts as a guide to facilitate readingthe lines on the copy.

Another object is to provide a copyholder that includes a hand operatedlever to bring about a step by step movement of the feed roller, and thethrow of the lever can be readily adjusted to vary the movement of theroller, in accordance with the width of the spaces between the lines onthe copy.

A still further and important object is to provide a copyholder thatincludes roller holding means for copy and means for holding copy fiat,and while each of said means is used separately on simple line copy, andthe latter preferably with copy containing a few lines, both means canbe advantageously used together with difficult tabular copy, such asmatter in columns of various widths in accordance with a unique method Ihave devised and which will be later described in detail, but it mightbe mentioned at this time, that my method materially simplilies thesetting of type from tabular copy, as it entirely eliminates guesswork,as well as the necessity of the operator endeavoring to remember thewidth of the columns, or the number of quads and spaces per column.

Another object is to provide a copyholder of the character set forth,that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, andextremely efficient in operation, use and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of constructionand in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to behereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawingsand specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like. orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of my holder.

Figure 2 s a view looking toward one end of the holder.

Figure 3 is a view looking toward the opposite end thereof.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken approximately on line i4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 5-5 of Figurel, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 65 of Figure 5,looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure '7 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 'l'i of Figure4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in detail, it will be noted that my holderincludes an elongated shell like body or housing that is made up ofplate like end walls I and 2 provided with enlarged v rear portions 3and formed on or otherwise secured to the outwardly rounded rear edgesof the portions 3 is a rear wall 4 that is substantially semicircular incross section. The rear wall is provided with an upturned flange 5 alongits upper edge and a downturned flange 6 along its lower edge. Securedto and between the upper edges of the end walls is a flat top wall 1having a front wall 8 formed thereon and which includes angle portionssecured to the front edges of the end walls, as best shown in Figures 2and 3.

The top wall i has its inner edge spaced from the flange ii to provide asight opening or slot throughout the length of the holder, and fixed tothe inner face of the rear portion of the end wall 2 which is thickerthan the end wall I, is a plate Q for a purpose which will be laterdescribed.

Extending along the length of the housing for disposal partially withinthe curvature of the rear wall 4 but spaced therefrom, is a relativelylarge feed roller It which may be made from any suitable material andmay have a covering of rubber thereon, but in any event the roller isprovided with trunnions l 1 extending centrally from the ends thereofand through bearing openings in the rear portions of the end walls, forrotation therein, as will be apparent. Secured to the outer ends of thetrunnions H are knobs l2 which are tapered and knurled, to facilitaterotating the roller.

Cooperating with the feed roller Ill to hold copy sheets thereon forfeeding the same through the holder, is a relatively small pressureroller that includes a rod 13 having mounted thereon a cylindricalroller body Id of rubber or the like. The ends of the rod 13 arejournaled in the upper ends of the short upturned arms I5 of bell cranklevers l 6 that are pivotally connected to the end walls I and 2 at thejuncture of the short arms with the long arms thereof, as best shown inFigure 5, and the pressure roller is held against the feed roller bycoil springs ll that have one of their ends connected to the end walls,and their opposite ends to the outer ends of the long arms of the bellcrank levers.

Removably fixed to the end of the feed roller that faces the plate 9, aswell as to the trunnion is a ratchet wheel [8 that is formed withrelatively fine teeth It on the outer lateral face thereof and directedat an angle to bring about rotation of the feed roller in a clockwisedirection. The outer periphery of the wheel 18 is smooth, and in orderto prevent casual rotation of the feed roller, I provide a bracket 20that includes an arm having a bearing collar 2| formed on one end andmounted on the trunnion or shaft of the feed roller, as best shown inFigure 7, the arm being fixed to the plate 9 and its opposite endportion being bent at right angles to the remaining portion, to overliethe outer periphery of the ratchet wheel. Secured to the right anglebent end of the bracket is an arcuate leaf spring 22 that has its outerend curved toward the wheel and engaged therewith for the purpose setforth.

The ratchet wheel of course, is a part of the mechanism to bring about astep by step movement of the feed roller and cooperating with the wheelis an operating lever that includes an upright portion 23 mounted forpivotal movement in a bore extending perpendicular through the plate 9,as shown in Figure 5, and from the upper end of the portion 23, theoperating lever is bent at right angles thereto and thence directedlaterally and upwardly in curved formation to provide a handle portion24 that has an arcuate finger piece 25 secured to the outer end thereof,midway its ends, a best shown in Figure e. The portion 23 of theoperating lever extends through a transversely disposed slot 25 in theplate 9, and the slot registers with a smaller slot 21 in the end wall2, as shown in Figure 6.

Extending through the slots 26 and 2'! for 0scillatory movement thereinis a ratchet pawl that includes a tubular body 28 having a collar 29formed thereon, and the collar is removably fixed to the portion 23, sothat upon swinging movement of the operating lever, the pawl will bemoved accordingly. The outer end of the body 01' casing 28 is closed,and extending through the open end thereof is a spring pressed toothmember 30 that has a beveled outer end engaged with the teeth of theratchet wheel and is urged and held accordingly, as will be apparentupon inspection of Figure 6. The pawl is urged and held in its normalposition of that figure by a coil spring 3! sleeved on a stem 32 that isfixed to the body 28 and mounted for slidable movement through anaperture in a bracket 33, the latter being secured to the outer face ofthe end wall 2, and the spring 3! has its end convolutions engaging thebracket and an abutment collar 36 on the stem. By that construction, itwill be seen that when the operating lever is moved to the right inFigure l, by the finger piece 25, the lever will be swung on its pivotedportion 23 and carries the pawl, for the latter to move the feed rollerthrough the medium of the tooth member 39 and the ratchet wheel, andsuch movement is accomplished merely by a flick of the operators fingeragainst the piece 25, which when released, the lever and pawl arereturned to their normal position by the action of the spring 3!, thusthe feed roller can be actuated in a step by step movement for feedingthe copy accordingly through the device.

In order to limit and adjust the throw of the operating lever, to varythe movement of the feed roller in accordance with the width of thespaces between the lines on the copy, I provide a flat faced finger likelug 35 formed on and extending laterally from the operating lever andengageable with an abutment lug 36 formed on and rising from the rearend of a strip plate 31 that is mounted on the end wall 2 for slidableadjustment along the length thereof, by a set screw 33 that extendsthrough a slot 39 disposed longitudinally of the plate 31, as best shownin Figure 3. The strip plate is adjusted by a screw bolt it having aserrated head and threaded in a collar it formed on the inner face ofthe front end of the plate, the shank of the bolt and collar beingmounted in a groove 42 in the end wall 2, and the h ad in a recess whichfittingly receives the same to allow free rotation thereof but toprevent endwise movement of the bolt, and the latter is fastened to theend Wall by a U-clamp 23. A spring member :54 is secured to the end wallto bear against the head, so as to prevent casual turning of the bolt,as will be apparent.

A triangular shaped ear is formed on the strip plate adjacent to theforward end thereof, to provide an indicator pointer 45 that overliesthe top wall I for cooperation with numbered graduations ts on the topwall to bring about the desired setting of the lug 36 relative to thelug 35. It will be noted that the graduations are shown as beingnumbered respectively from the bottom to the top, by numbers 6, 8, 10,l, 2 and 3, and it might be mentioned that the numbers 6, 8 and 10 areused for copy which is termed reprints and clippings, printed in thecorresponding point solid type, while the numbers 1, 2 and 3 are usedfor typewritten copy having single, double and triple spaced lines.

It is believed that the use of the device so far described will beobvious, but it might be mentioned that in order to load the same, thelower edge of a copy sheet is mounted between the rollers and the feedroller is turned counterclockwise in Fig. 3 by either knob I2 until thetop of the sheet can be inserted under the flanged upper end of the rearwall or cover 4. The pointer 45 is then set to bring about the movementof the feed roller in accordance with the spacing of the lines on thecopy, and the latter is fed by the operating lever to bring the linesinto view, in the space between the top wall I and the flange 5. Thecopy is preferably arranged so that when the lines come into view, thebottom of each line to be read is flush with the top of the pressureroller for the latter to act as a gauge to facilitate reading the lines,as will be apparent.

The top wall 7 acts as a support for what is termed flat copy and ispreferably used with copy having only a few lines, when not used incombination with the rollers when carrying out my method which will belater described.

In order to hold a sheet of fiat copy on the top wall I, there isprovided a gauge and holding strip having a toothed lower edge 48engageable with the copy, the strip 41 being spring pressed for thatpurpose and has one end twisted for disposal at right angles to thetoothed portion and fixed to a spring clip 49. The spring clip includesa finger engaging plate 50 having secured to the under face thereof, acoil spring 5| that is sleeved on a guide rod 52, the latter beingsecured to and extending along the length of one end of the top wall.The spring has its ends bearing against the top wall and the plate 50,as indicated in dotted lines in Figure l, to urge and hold the strip 41against the copy. By that construction, it will be seen that the strip41 can be moved transversely of the top wall, but is held against casualmovement by the spring 5|.

While the fiat copyholding means and the roller means are usedseparately for simple line copy, they are used together for settingdifficult tabular composition, by my method previously referred to. Incarrying out the method, and as suming that it is necessary to setcomposition that includes seven columns of figures, with each columnbeing of a different width, a strip A of paper or cardboard as shown bydotted lines in Figure 1 is placed upon and across the copy which isruled with lines between the columns. strip is then marked or ruled withperpendicular lines B aligned with the lines of the copy, and thence theoperator calculates the width of each column on the copy in picas orquads and spaces, and writes the figures as the result of thecalculation in the spaces C between the lines B. The copy is theninserted between the rollers in the usual manner, and the strip A isapplied and clamped to the top wall I, with the lines B aligned with thelines on the copy, so that the calculations will be arranged directlybelow the columns on the copy. The operator in setting the type, canthen glance at the calculations, thus eliminating the necessity ofremembering the widths or the number of picas or quads and spaces remadein the construction and in the combination 2.

and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a copyholder, an elongated body including end walls, said bodyhaving an opening along the length thereof for copy to show through, afeed roller including trunnions journaled in the end walls, knobssecured to the trunnions, a pressure roller for holding a copy sheetagainst the feed roller, means for rotating the feed roller in a step bystep movement and including a manually operated lever, a lug formed onthe lever, a strip member secured to the outer face of one end wall foradjustment along the length of the upper edge thereof, an abutment lugformed on the strip member and disposed in the path of the first lug tolimit the throw of the lever, threaded means for adjusting the stripmember, a top wall included in the body, said top wall having numberedgraduations thereon, and a pointer carried by the strip member forcooperation with the graduations to indicate the adjustment of the stripmember.

2. In a copyholder, an elongated body including end walls, said bodyhaving an opening along the length thereof for copy to show through, afeed roller journaled in the end walls, operating knobs for said roller,a pressure roller for holding a copy sheet against the feed roller,means for rotating the feed roller in a step by step movement andincluding a manually operated lever, a lug formed on the lever andextending laterally therefrom, a strip plate secured to the outer faceof one end wall for adjustment along the length of the upper edgethereof, an abutment lug formed on the rear end of the strip plate anddisposed in the path of the first lug to limit the throw of the lever, acollar formed on the forward end of the strip plate, the latter end wallhaving a recess therein, a headed screw bolt threaded in the collar foradjusting the strip plate, means for fastening the screw bolt in placewith the head thereof mounted in the recess to prevent endwise movementof said bolt, a top wall included in said body, said top wall havingnumbered graduations thereon, and a pointer formed on the strip plateand overlying the top wall for cooperation with the graduations toindicate the adjustment of the strip plate.

3. In a copyholder, an elongated body including end walls, said bodyhaving an opening along the length thereof for copy to show through, a

feed roller journaled in the end walls, a pressure roller for holding acopy sheet against the feed roller, means for rotating the feed rollerin a step by step movement and including a manually operated lever, aplate fixed to the inner face of one end wall and having a slot thereinintersecting a perpendicular bore through said plate, the latter endwall having a slot therein and registering with the first slot, saidlever including an upright portion pivotally mounted in the bore, ahandle portion formed on said upright portion, a finger piece secured tothe handle portion, a ratchet wheel fixed to the feed roller, a pawlsecured to said upright portion and including a tubular member mountedin the slots for disposal therethrough, a spring pressed tooth memberslidably mounted in the tubular member and held against the teeth of theratchet wheel, means carried by the tubular member for urging andholding the lever to and in its normal position, and adjustable abutmentmeans for the lever to vary the throw thereof and the movement of thefeed roller.

4. In a copyholder, an elongated body including end walls, said bodyhaving an opening along the length thereof for copy to show through, afeed roller journaled in the end walls, bell crank levers pivoted at thejuncture of the arms thereof to the end walls, each bell crank leverincluding a short arm and a long arm, a pressure roller journaled in theouter ends of the short arms, springs connected to the side walls andthe long arms for urging the pressure roller toward the feed roller tohold a copy sheet against the latter, means for rotating the feed rollerin a step by step movement and including a manually operated lever, aplate fixed to the inner face of one end wall and having a slot thereinintersecting a perpendicular bore extending through the plate, thelatter end wall having a slot registering with the first slot, saidlever including an upright portion pivotally mounted in the bore, aratchet 5 wheel fixed to the feed roller, a pawl secured to said uprightportion and mounted in the slots, a spring pressed slidably mountedtooth member

